The crisis of neoliberalism and the future of international institutions: A comparison of the IMF and the WTO

The current crisis of neoliberalism is calling into question the relevance of key international institutions. We analyze the origins, nature, and possible impacts of the crisis through comparing two such institutions: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Both originated in the post-World War II U.S.-led hegemonic order and were transformed as part of the transition to global neoliberalism. We show that while the IMF and the WTO have been part of the same hegemonic project, their distinct institutional features have put them on significantly different trajectories. Historical differences in the two institutions’ systems of rules have placed the IMF in a more vulnerable position than the WTO, which provides clues to the future contours of global economic governance.

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Nitsan Chorev (Corresponding author)Email:

Sarah BabbEmail:

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Nitsan Chorev   is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Brown University. She is the author of Remaking U.S. Trade Policy: from Protectionism to Globalization (Cornell University Press, 2007), and is now working on a book on the global politics of health. Sarah Babb   is Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston College. She is the author of Behind the Development Banks: Washington Politics, World Poverty, and the Wealth of Nations (University of Chicago Press, 2009), which explores the impact of American politics on the World Bank and regional development institutions.